Monetizing Car Data

Monetizing car data
New service business opportunities to

create new customer benefits
Advanced Industries September 2016
Foreword
As privately owned vehicles become increasingly connected to each other and to external
infrastructures via a growing number of sensors, a massive amount of data is being gener-
ated. Gathering this data has become par for the course; leveraging insights from data in
ways that can monetize it, however, is still in its nascent stages.
To answer key questions around car data monetization and to understand how players
along the connected car value chain might capture this potential, McKinsey & Company
launched a large-scale, multimodality knowledge initiative course of research:
Roundtable sessions conducted in Germany and the USA convened leaders from the
automotive (OEMs, suppliers, sales), high-tech, insurance, telecommunications, and
finance sectors.
Surveys administered in China, Germany, and the USA assessed the preferences,
trends, and concerns of about 3,000 customers regarding car data.
One-on-one interviews explored the perspectives of car data leaders on the trends
and monetization matters in the space.
“Customer clinics” collected user observations around preferences and attitudes

towards the practicality of various car connectivity features and services.
A model was developed to quantify the overall revenue pool related to car data and
the opportunity for key industry players based on selected, prioritized use cases.
In the following you will find a synthesis of the key findings of this broad, ongoing knowl-
edge effort.
We would like to thank the many organizations that participated in this exploration of the
potential and requirements of car data monetization and that through their contributions
made this effort possible.
Michele Bertoncello Gianluca Camplone Paul Gao Hans-Werner Kaas
Detlev Mohr Timo Möller Dominik Wee
3
Legal notice
McKinsey is not an investment adviser, and thus McKinsey cannot and does not provide
investment advice. Nothing in this report is intended to serve as investment advice, or a
recommendation of any particular transaction or investment, any type of transaction or
investment, the merits of purchasing or selling securities, or an invitation or inducement to
engage in investment activity.
Contents
Executive summary 7
Introduction: global automotive macrotrends and the value 10

opportunity from car data
Developing a compelling value proposition for customers 13
Setting business models, use cases, and monetization options 22

to capture the opportunity
Putting the three key technical enablers in place 32
Building capabilities and partnerships 46
Next steps: five pragmatic recommendations for starting 52

the car data monetization journey
Appendix: “Free mobility” as customer benefit – 54

utopia or business opportunity?
Monetizing car data – new service business opportunities to create new customer benefits 5
Executive summary
Cars generate data about how they are used, where they are, and who is behind the wheel.
With greater proliferation of shared mobility, progress in powertrain electrification, car auto
nomy, and vehicle connectivity, the amount of data from vehicles will grow exponentially,
raising a key question:
How might industry players in the evolving automotive ecosystem turn

car-generated data into valuable products and services?
Through a comprehensive course of research – comprised of surveys, interviews, and
observations – McKinsey analyzed consumer perspectives on the prospect of accessing
car-generated data, identifying and assessing the value and requirements of possible car
data-enabled use cases. The overall revenue pool from car data monetization at a global
scale might add up to USD 450 - 750 billion by 2030. The opportunity for industry players
hinges on their ability to 1) quickly build and test car data-driven products and services
focused on appealing customer propositions and 2) develop new business models built
on technological innovation, advanced capabilities, and partnerships that push the current
boundaries of the automotive industry.
Customer value proposition. The car data monetization opportunity begins with an environ-
ment in which customers believe that there is something of value in it for them and that the
cost is worth the benefit. The survey revealed that, in general, customers are interested in
data-enabled features that make mobility safer or more convenient and save them time or
money. Across geographies, nearly two-thirds of consumers saw the various car data use
cases as personally relevant, and more than three-fourths deemed them useful. Certain
use cases rely on driving-related or systems data (route, vehicle usage, etc.), while others
require users to share more personal data, such as the content of personal communications.
Customers are more reluctant to share the latter type of data, but 60 percent of them are will-
ing to do so when the feature is safety or convenience related. Younger customers appear to
be significantly more open to the adoption of data-enabled features and services in cars than
customers over 50 years of age, and frequent travelers (those spending more than 20 hours
per week in the car) are almost twice as likely to adopt them than occasional drivers.
Use cases and business models. Through roundtables, interviews, customer clinics, and
problem solving with industry leaders, we identified more than 30 separate use cases
that could generate value for end customers and industry players, ranging from predictive
maintenance to over-the-air software add-ons and from vehicle usage scoring to usage-
based insurance. Each use case has the potential to create value in one of three main
ways: revenue generation, cost reduction, or safety and security enhancement. Multiple
direct monetization options exist; features and services can be charged to end custom-
ers – by rolling their cost into the vehicle price, selling them as a one-time purchase after
initial vehicle sale, or offering them via subscription or rechargeable credit – or provided
free of charge when customers agree to receiving advertising as part of the deal.
Customer willingness to pay for features – as opposed to a preference for free, ad-sup-
ported features – varies across use cases and geographies. For example, 73 percent of
consumers globally are willing to pay for predictive maintenance services, but the spread
ranges from 78 percent in China to 71 percent of consumers in the USA. When it comes
to connected navigation services, the global average for customer willingness to pay
drops to 43 percent, mainly driven by the availability of credible, free alternatives already
established on the market. As a consequence, industry players must pragmatically
develop and tailor their offerings to each specific use case and to the local preferences.
In this landscape, it is critical for industry players to clearly define their strategic stance
vis-à-vis a set of control points, i.e., critical technologies to capture value from the use
cases. Across a number of existing control points, accessing the car data gateway, shap-
ing the human-machine interface (HMI), and matching customer ID with data strings will
be of central importance for industry players.
Enablers. The monetization of car data requires a set of enablers across three broad catego-
ries: in-car technology enablers include sensors, high-performance computing, in-car
HMI, car OS, connectivity, data storage, and location/navigation hardware. Infrastructural
technologies outside of the vehicle to enable car data monetization include 4G/5G data
towers, big data analytics, cloud computing, software platforms, high-definition maps/high-
resolution positioning, smart-road infrastructure, and V2X communications. Back-end pro-
cesses facilitate the analysis and sharing of car data and ensure the functioning and security
of the whole ecosystem. Among others, these enabling players are regulators, infrastructure
operators, content providers, cybersecurity players, and data center operators.
Capabilities and partnerships. For incumbents like auto OEMs or tier-1 suppliers, building and
operating service businesses is a new and significant challenge, requiring the development
of specific capabilities either internally (e.g., hiring, developing, and retaining digital talent) or
externally, partnering or acquiring digital-native players.
From a capabilities angle, the starting point for incumbents to enter the car data monetization
arena is to step up their data management capabilities in terms of:
Data preparation collection, cleansing and formatting from a multitude of relevant sources
(e.g., the car, OEM Web site, social media, dealer management system)
Data analysis that applies “big data/advanced analytics” techniques to extract valuable
insights from this wide and complex data landscape
Data usage and value delivery, deploying features, products, services, and recommenda-
tions to final customers and/or to business partners in order to capture the opportunity and
continuously refine their offerings.
Pushing beyond the basics, making services, R&D, factories, and channels “digital ready” –
especially for traditional automotive organizations – is likely to require a fundamental shift
from current ways of working that may be less conducive to the digital innovation required to
succeed in car data monetization. Industry executives concur that organizational complexity
and lack of specific digital skills fundamentally hinder OEMs’ ability to innovate at the rate of
nimbler high-tech players and start-ups. Digital innovation for large OEMs might entail the
establishment of a “digital accelerator” unit that is 1) independent enough to inspire creativity,
2) agile enough to quickly develop (or kill) innovations as a “venture capitalist” would, and
3) linked closely enough to the business to ensure that innovation translates into value for the
broader company at scale.
8 Monetizing car data – new service business opportunities to create new customer benefits
Looking outside of the organization, technology, market, and regulatory trends will make
strategic collaboration increasingly necessary. Players in the car data monetization space
will be naturally forced to partner with multiple entities (e.g., high-tech suppliers, their own
customers, public institutions) to access specific capabilities and to reduce development
costs. Openness and agility in creating partnerships on R&D and sales channels develop-
ment will be required to succeed.
Looking ahead. High-tech companies, start-ups, alternative mobility operators, data man-
agement services, insurers, roadside assistance providers, and infrastructure operators will
all be players in the car data monetization landscape. It is the most traditional of automotive
players, however, who may find staking a claim most challenging. OEMs and suppliers are
accustomed to seven-year product cycles, full control over a stable value chain, consolidated
monetization models, and few interactions with end customers. They are also used to deliver-
ing products and services with limited digital capabilities. Car data monetization will challenge
all of these current realities and compel incumbents to quickly make pragmatic changes to
their approaches. In order to succeed, industry players can start making their way now with
some practical early steps:
Fix an initial car data monetization “ambition target” at CEO level and set the organization
towards truly transformational change!
Prioritize the use case offerings most suited to the organization, and define a realistic
estimate of the overall value pool and timing for market development!
Begin pragmatic piloting on a limited number of use cases and quickly collect customer
feedback to adjust the course!
Lay robust IT foundations for the future, but do not be afraid to leverage IT work-arounds
to test the use cases today!
Note the spaces where long-term capabilities need to be developed or integrated, and
build an ecosystem of partners to deliver on the use cases!
Cultivate a cross-functional, cooperative dynamic that fosters innovation, and identify

the best organizational setup to act as “technological accelerator” for the company
going forward!
Introduction: global automotive macrotrends
and the value opportunity from car data
By and large, there are four powerful global automotive megatrends behind the explosion in
car data availability and its growing potential to be monetized.
Powertrain electrification is being driven by stricter emission regulations, lower battery

costs, widely available charging stations, and increasing consumer acceptance. Electrified
vehicles (hybrid, plug-in, battery electric, and fuel cell) could account for a share greater
than 10 percent of new vehicle sales by 2030, and in selected geographies this number
could go as high as 50 percent.
Shared mobility as an alternative to privately owned vehicles is growing as a mobility model.

By 2030, one out of ten cars sold could be a shared vehicle. This trend could spawn the rise
of a market for fit-for-purpose mobility solutions that will represent an attractive alternative to
the current “one-car-for-all-purposes” model.
Car connectivity will allow for new functionalities and features to be offered to drivers and
passengers and will support the effectiveness of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will represent the ultimate manifestation of ADAS, marking the
shift from driver-assisted functionality to fully autonomous vehicle operation. A progressive
adoption scenario might imply that up to ~15 percent of passenger vehicles sold in 2030
could be fully autonomous, although significant differences in adoption might arise across
different markets. Autonomy will progressively transform the car into a platform from which
drivers and passengers can use their transit time for personal activities, which could include
the use of novel forms of media and services (Exhibit 1).
Exhibit 1 Global megatrends trigger trends in the automotive industry that have the
potential to radically change the mobility industry
… radically changing the

4 disruptive technology-driven trends … mobility industry
Electrification Shifting markets and

Connectivity
revenue pools
Changes in mobility
behavior
Diffusion of advanced
technology
New competition and

cooperation
Autonomous driving Diverse mobility
SOURCE: McKinsey
These trends, thoroughly described in McKinsey’s report “Automotive Revolution – perspec-
tive towards 2030,” will define new mobility models, and data-enabled services and features
will become increasingly available and relevant for customers.
What the trends described above have in common is their contributions (current and future)
to an unprecedented explosion in car-generated digital data, with significant implications not
just for traditional automotive industry businesses but for new players as well. Companies
representing the high-tech, insurance, telecommunications, and other sectors that at once
seemed, at most, “automotive adjacent” will play critical roles in enabling car data-related
services that customers may be willing to pay for.
With increasing proliferation of new features and services, car data will become a key theme
on the automotive industry agenda and – if its potential is fully realized – highly monetizable.
We have identified and described about 30 data-enabled use cases, clustering them around
their fundamental value creation model: direct revenues generation, costs saving, or safety/
security increase. Together, these use cases have the potential to result in a total revenue
pool of USD 450 - 750 billion by 2030 (Exhibit 2). Importantly, these valuations should be
interpreted as a projection of current trends and assumptions of probable scenarios across
these trends based on our current understanding – and are thus not deterministic
in nature.
Exhibit 2 Car-generated data may become a USD 450 - 750 billion market by 2030
USD billions
Today – 2030 –
traditional automotive revenues new automotive revenues
Vehicle sales dominant Recurring revenues significantly increasing
~ 5% p.a. growth
~ 7,050 - 7,350
450 - 750 Car data-enabled Recurring revenues –
shared mobility and car
+36 - 41% 1,400 services data-enabled services
Shared mobility
1,200 Aftermarket
~ 3,500
30 0
720
4,000 One-time vehicle sales
2,750
"Significantly larger revenue pool around the car, expanding even faster"
SOURCE: McKinsey
In order to position themselves to capture value from car data, industry players will need to
respond to four fundamental challenges:
Developing a compelling value proposition for customers to share their data

and preferences
Defining data-related use cases and business models in detail
Putting the required technical enablers in place
Building the necessary capabilities and partnerships.
Clearly, there is no single strategy to succeed in car data monetization, as targeted and
company-specific approaches are required. Each player will be expected to develop a
plausible and pragmatic blueprint, acknowledging its starting point and current capabilities
as well as its future ambitions and prospects.
It is precisely against this background and with a view to facilitating this undertaking that
we introduce and discuss the findings and insights from our research in the following four
core sections.
Developing a compelling value proposition
for customers
The first challenge on the path towards car data monetization is communicating to the end
customers exactly what is in it for them. The exchange of data for benefits lies at the very
heart of the value creation process related to car data. Benefits for consumers typically fall
into four broad categories: safety, convenience, time savings, and cost reduction.
In the safety category, car data can enable real-time emergency calls, immediate information
that facilitates rescue services, and road hazard warnings that allow drivers to be informed
and respond quickly. When it comes to convenience, car data can reduce breakdown risk/
downtime with predictive maintenance, concierge services can make light work of routine
tasks (such as car washing and refueling), and connected infotainment can provide easy-
to-access entertainment. These features can also be big time savers for users. Optimized
routing and navigation can reduce delivery/travel time, and systems of networked parking
can mean never having to search for a parking space. Finally, customers who are willing
to receive in-car advertising and share information with insurers could save money at the
retail point of sale and on their insurance premiums, respectively. Participation in automated
payment schemes could also present customers with an opportunity to save on tolls or
municipal road-related taxes.
In our survey, customers showed a higher willingness to share data (and to pay!) for time-
related use cases, such as networked parking, allowing them to save valuable time in city
centers often spent looking for available parking spots (Exhibit 3).
Exhibit 3 Across geographies, willingness to share data and pay for time-saving use
cases is high
Q1. Willingness to share data: Which of the following service versions would you prefer?
Percent of respondents selecting either full version or basic version in Q1 in exchange for sharing data
Q2. Willingness to pay: What would be your preferred subscription model for this service?
Percent of respondents selecting any of the paid options in Q2 instead of free, ad-supported versions
Germany USA China

N = 546 N = 620 N = 903
Q1. Q2. Q1. Q2. Q1. Q2.
Safety 91 54 90 58 98 65
Cost 91 45 90 41 98 54
Conve-
92 51 91 47 97 61
nience
Time 92 71 93 72 98 76
SOURCE: McKinsey Car Data Monetization Survey 2016
The broader good news is that customers are increasingly aware of and interested in the
benefits related to car data-enabled features and services. When compared to the results
of our 2015 car connectivity survey (Exhibit 4), customers across markets today are:
More aware that data is openly accessible to applications and third parties (~90 percent
of globally surveyed customers, +2 percentage points vs. 2015)
More willing to consciously grant access to their data (79 percent of globally surveyed
customers, +11 percentage points vs. 2015)
More comfortable sharing personal data with apps/smartphone OS rather than for data-
enabled use cases related to mobility (79 percent willingness compared to 62 percent).
There is still, however, work to be done. A more granular look at consumer openness to
data sharing reveals persistent cautiousness and fear that certain data types, perceived as
privacy critical, could be misused. Framing data types is therefore important to understand-
ing how customers approach the issue of exchanging data for benefits.
Exhibit 4 Customer awareness of how applications access and share personal data is
high as is their willingness to trade data for benefits
Percentage of respondents saying “Yes”, N = 3,000 (in 2015), 3,186 (in 2016)
Question Are you aware that certain data1 is Do you consciously decide to grant certain
openly accessible to applications and applications access to your personal data1,
shared with 3rd parties? even if you may have generally disabled
this access for other applications?
88 94
+7% 71 76
+8%
Germany
88 85
-3% 71 73
+3%
USA
88 91 86
+3% 71 +21%
China
2015 2016 2015 2016

1 E.g., your current location, address book details, browser history
Consistent with McKinsey’s observations in the 2015 “Competing for the connected cus-
tomer” survey, younger and middle-aged customers declare to be more interested in data-
enabled features and services than mature drivers. Similarly, interest in connectivity features
increases with the time spent in the car. As we observed in our customer clinics, people typi-
cally have a limited familiarity with current infotainment systems: once they get more used to
their interfaces, they feel more confident in testing new services and features (Exhibit 5).
Exhibit 5 Younger audiences and frequent travelers show a higher initial interest in
car data-enabled features and services
Question: Do car data-enabled features/services solve a problem or fulfill a relevant need for you?
Percent of respondents selecting “Probably” or “Definitely”1, N = 3,186
Age Time spent the in car

Years Per week
67
54 51
50
38
31
18-29 30-49 50-64 Up to 10 11 to 20 > 20 hours

hours hours
1 Aggregated responses related to the use cases tested in the survey

The car data-enabled features for which consumers may be willing to pay rely on a mix of
data macrocategories. These categories imply different degrees of customer sensitivity in
terms of data sharing (Exhibit 6).
Exhibit 6 The car generates different macrocategories of data, each of which with
different levels of perceived privacy sensitivity by the customer
Perceived
Car-related use case examples
privacy
sensitivity Macrocategory Today 2020 - 25
Low
External road and environmental ▪ Real-time maps ▪ Preventive safety car
conditions (e.g., ice warning on adaptation
the road from ESP, fog from ▪ Live road conditions
camera/sensors’ feed) reports
Technical status of the vehicle ▪ Car repair diagnostics ▪ Predictive, remote service
(e.g., oil temperature, airbag ▪ Automatic emergency booking
deployment, technical malfunctions call (e-call)
report)
Vehicle usage (e.g., speed, ▪ PAYD insurance ▪ Reduced engineering

location, average load weight in ▪ Toll/road tax payment costs
the trunk) ▪ Trunk delivery
Personal data and preferences ▪ Vehicle settings ▪ E-commerce in the car
(e.g., driver/passengers’ identity, “memory” based on ▪ Targeted advertisements
preferred radio station, use patterns key presence at entry
of applications)
Direct communications from the ▪ Speech control of ▪ Proactive navigation and

vehicle (e.g., calendar, telephone, messaging and e-mail services
SMS, e-mail) ▪ Virtual assistant/
High concierge services
▪ Highly linked with data/profiles from personal electronic devices, e.g., smartphone
▪ Enablers for next-generation services
SOURCE: McKinsey
At the low-sensitivity end, external environment conditions, the vehicle’s technical status,
and vehicle usage are the data categories in which consumers are most willing to share
information. This is perceived to be “objective” data and generally less critical. Nonetheless,
smart management of this information is required, as in the case of vehicle location and usage.
In our customer clinics (Text Box 1), consumers declared to be:
Generally open to sharing when and on which stretches of road they drive to support
traffic flow analysis and to improve road safety
Not at all willing to share the “start point” and “end point” of their trips, allowing external
actors to track exactly where (and when) they are driving.
In order to respond to consumers’ points of willingness and reluctance, industry players are
offering “batch data” analysis, which would delete the first and last few minutes of the trip
from the data logs, so that start and end point would remain undiscoverable.
Text Box 1 Deep dive on customer clinics
A series of customer clinics was conducted by LUNAR in Chicago and Silicon Valley,
where shared mobility and car users opened up about their attitudes towards data
sharing, connectivity, and autonomous vehicles in a real-life environment. These
full-day sessions enabled us to capture the voices of real people into our conversa-
tion about car data monetization and to test in depth their attitudes towards potential
future technologies and interfaces (Exhibit 7).
Exhibit 7 We have run customer clinics on car data use cases with LUNAR,
the design firm recently acquired by McKinsey
“Why is connectivity important?” “How to build an appealing value proposition?”
“I would be bored if I weren’t connected to some- “There’s so much stuff that you can get online – it’s
thing, it’s really just to keep me from getting bored” give and take, but if you don’t let go, you can’t have it”
“Use cases and business models” “Human-machine interface of the future”
“It sounds like a great idea because people have to “The interface will be really smart, you will be able to
work for good insurance rates – if they drive well, communicate with it like with a friend”
then they get a better insurance rate”
SOURCE: LUNAR, McKinsey
Key findings from the clinics include:
Consumers understand they will share personal information as part of their digital
lives – they just expect to get a fair value in return.
Keeping car technology up to date is perceived as exciting. People instinctively draw

the connection between an upgradeable phone/OS and an upgradeable car.
People are open to the concept of voice-activated assistants and generally find
current HMI cumbersome. Many refrain from using cool car features because they
do not want to look foolish trying.
People who drive better want to claim benefits. People who do not, want to be sure
that their behavior is not monitored by the car.
Driving styles are an expression of individual personality. People are willing to take sug-
gestions from the car but they do not want it to cross over into the territory of nagging.
Ride sharing users are much closer to accepting the idea of self-driving fleets than
nonusers, as they believe it will significantly improve their mobility experience.
“The time you spend in a car is the constraining commodity … multiple

devices are competing for it and currently the smartphone is winning.”
– High-tech player from Silicon Valley
At the other end of the spectrum, customers perceive data categories as riskier when those
imply sharing personal data and preferences and the content of personal communications
from inside the vehicle. Customers are generally more reluctant to share these types of data,
as they consider them private.
Within the “nonpersonal” categories in which customers are most willing to share data, they
expect a fair level of benefit in exchange. When it comes to what they might get in return
for the very personal data they share, their expectations are even higher, and sensitivity to
mistakes in managing data becomes critical for the reputation of the industry player.
Customers’ thresholds for data sharing and the trade-offs with which they are comfortable
are ever changing (Text Box 2). A sizable share of customers is resistant to data sharing, but
nearly half of those who express concern make it clear that with certain assurances, their
reluctance to sharing data diminishes (Exhibit 9).
Text Box 2 Willingness to share does not necessarily imply willingness to pay
Unsurprisingly, the willingness to share data varies significantly across use cases and
geographies. Customers are willing to trade their data only if they clearly understand the
benefits they will get and perceive them as being relevant. As you can see in Exhibit 8,
absolute willingness to share data varies significantly across markets. On the other
hand, out of our ~30 use cases, the ones benefitting from the highest willingness to
pay are the same across the surveyed markets (although in different orders): networked
parking, predictive maintenance, and vehicle usage monitoring and scoring.
Exhibit 8 Willingness to share data in exchange for a feature varies by feature type and
geography; willingness to pay, however, is high for parking, maintenance, and
usage monitoring features and consistent across geographies
Willingness to share personal data, top 3 use cases Willingness to pay, top 3 use cases by country
Percent of respondents selecting full version that requires Percent of respondents selecting any of the paid options
access to personal and system data instead of free, ad-supported versions
N = 479 N = 436
73 72 71
60 58 51
Germany
On-board pur- Connected Usage-based Networked Predictive Usage

chases of driving- navigation tolling and parking maintenance monitoring
unrelated features taxation and scoring
N = 497 N = 460
70 59 59 73 72 71
USA
Connected Predictive Usage-based Usage monitoring Networked Predictive

navigation maintenance tolling and and scoring parking maintenance
taxation
N = 626 N = 615
90 81 79 78 76 73
China
Predictive Remote Usage Predictive Networked Usage

maintenance immobilization monitoring maintenance parking monitoring
and tracking and scoring and scoring
Exhibit 9 About half of customers are comfortable sharing data with OEMs, and with
assurances the data will not be sold, that share goes to three-fourths
Would you allow your car to track your location and report it anonymously, e.g., to enable
your carmaker to improve the next generation of your car?
Percent
No 24 I would not allow this under any circumstances
But only with guarantees that the data will only be used to
21
improve the product and will not be sold to 3rd parties
Yes (76)
55 I would allow this
Counter to initial expectations, data privacy concerns do not appear to be a major

roadblock for the proliferation of connectivity features
SOURCE: McKinsey Connectivity and Autonomous Driving Consumer Survey 2015
A continuous exploration of customers’ attitudes towards data sharing will be crucial

to players’ abilities to cash in on the data opportunity. Players in the car data space who
are best able to build and maintain trust will find themselves in ideal positions to capture
the potential rewards of car data.
These matters of privacy, security, and information sharing raise the critical issue of trust.
For digital-native customers, data has become the currency that facilitates the exchange
between customers and businesses. This will become increasingly important as the share
of digital natives grows and more traditional customers find themselves jumping on the
digital bandwagon. As this trajectory continues, all businesses – and particularly those in
the car data sphere – will need to focus on their ability to build trust with their customers.
Measuring success through customer trust
The critical aspect highlighted by end customers in our customer clinics was the element of
trust in the brand they share their data with. For a player active in data monetization, building
(and defending!) its reputation is fundamental to motivating people to engage in a fair “data
for benefits” exchange.
Nonetheless, building and maintaining trust faces multiple challenges; cyber attacks, data
leakages, and misusage of customer data can occur. Unfortunately, multiple cases affected
the automotive industry, consumer electronics, and even the banking industry in the last
five years.
“Rule No. 1 is not to use data against the customer.”
– European telematics player
Against this background, we asked senior executives in our industry roundtables what were
the five golden rules of building and maintaining customer trust. These are the answers they
provided:
1. N
ever use data against your customers, but rather in their service. Frequency of interaction
is critical, as customers do not want to be stressed by continuous questions or propositions.
2.
Provide clarity and education on what kinds of data are to be used, why and how
(e.g., anonymized vs. personalized), with a simple experience in the “terms and
conditions” acceptance.
3. D
o not misuse and do not allow potential third parties to misuse data, aggressively
promote data security and respect of privacy, and be clear on “legal aspects.”
4.
Give customers the choice of what to share and what not to share and for which
purposes (i.e., customers need to be in control of their own data); periodically remind
customers that they can revise the parameters of data sharing.
5.
Make gathered data available to customers.
Of course, despite best efforts, issues might still arise. Our industry roundtable participants
identified five golden rules for dealing with a customer trust crisis:
1. Admit the mistake openly.
2. Identify responsibilities with clarity.
3.
Apply good crisis management. Explain publicly what the problem is, what the solutions
are, which actions will be taken, and how you will prevent the same from happening
again in the future.
4. P
rovide customers with some additional benefit as tangible compensation for
the disservice.
5. M
aintain open and clear communication throughout the crisis (e.g., on social media),
sharing the resolution of the issue as loudly as the issue itself.
“You have got to give customers a credible corporate response,

and do everything you can to be sure that it won’t happen again.
Prolonged, repeated crises can sink any brand, even more when
you’re talking about handling customers’ data ...”
– High-tech player from Silicon Valley
Setting business models, use cases, and
monetization options to capture the opportunity
The market being created by access to massive amounts of car data is broadening the set
of players in the car ecosystem, providing new sets of value creation models, and generating
a large number of (related) use cases and monetization options. In the following, we will first
offer systematic overviews of all of these elements as an orientation on the market’s strategy
options (see also Text Boxes 3 and 4), before illustrating how individual players could
approach the challenge of capturing the car data monetization opportunity (see also
Text Boxes 5 and 6).
In terms of relevant players, start-ups providing data-enabled services and established

players from sectors that were once, at best, “automotive adjacent,” are now finding them-
selves squarely in the thick of automotive’s car data landscape.
The following is a look at who is already active in the car data space and how they are
making their marks:
Automotive OEMs. In addition to selling connectivity-related options and services
(e.g., infotainment, navigation), OEMs are already becoming active in car data analytics
to better understand how customers use their cars, shape their repair and maintenance
choices, and improve the link between dealers and customers (e.g., allowing for real-time,
remote booking of vehicle check-ups).
Automotive suppliers are developing the software and hardware that are forming the
infrastructure capable of capturing, analyzing, and selling car data. Although the range
of technologies and applications spans widely, suppliers are now facing the challenge of
understanding how to leverage data to 1) reach end customers directly; 2) better serve their
B2B customers; and 3) improve their own product and services portfolio.
Insurers are able to capitalize on car data by offering usage-based insurance contracts,
exploring occasion-related policies (e.g., short-term, location-based motor insurance) and
extending their understanding of customers’ behavior beyond the yearly contract signing
touch point.
Roadside assistance providers can collect and process distress calls in real time from
vehicle sensors and automated alerts, optimize the dispatching of rescue vehicles, but also
analyze accident and breakdown data to provide valuable information to car OEMs and road
infrastructure operators.
Infrastructure operators, including billing/toll road operators and recharging/refueling players,

are analyzing car data to optimize the geographic deployment of their respective services,
explore variable-pricing options, and monitor the status of their assets to reduce mainte-
nance costs and improve safety.
High-tech giants are positioned to provide the fundamental car data analytics services that
car OEMs and advertisers are willing to buy. In addition to being the IT backbone, they can
offer front-end applications. Moreover, as the car is a central environment for digitization,
multiple high-tech giants are developing in-car platforms and operating systems to boost the
data generation and provide seamless connectivity experience across handhelds, vehicles,
and other connected environments (e.g., the home). As we will see later, some functionalities,
such as “smart, voice-activated virtual assistants” (e.g., Apple’s Siri, Google Now, Microsoft’s
Cortana) might be the “killer applications” to persuade OEMs to offer their platforms and to
motivate customers to share an even larger chunk of their data (as described in Text Box 7).
Start-ups are the smaller counterparts of the high-tech giants, entering the car data moneti-
zation space from a variety of angles, such as developing new apps, engineering innovative
hardware/interfaces (e.g., retro-fittable gesture-activated controls), and offering services
through innovative monetization schemes (as, for example, Pandora and Spotify did for
music-related content).
Service providers offer data management services (e.g., analytics, pseudonymization,

storage) and operate the back-end infrastructure and processes (including customer care,
invoicing/billing) for the players in the ecosystem.
Mobility providers already rely on car data to be able to offer their services such as car shar-
ing and e-hailing. They use the power of car data (e.g., car location, usage, battery status)
and user data (e.g., customer ID, credit, preferences) to even further approximate public
transportation infrastructures and improve vehicle allocation, recharge, and fleet operations.
Retailers and service centers are using car data analytics to optimize their sales network
and get the messages about their offerings directly to drivers. For example, by purchasing
traffic flow data, retailers can define with greater precision their stores’ footprint (i.e., number,
type, and location of stores) and their inventory on the basis of actual traffic data, even seg-
menting the type of end customer actually driving in front of the store. Assuming they obtain
customers’ clearance, they could push highly tailored advertising to car screens and drivers’
handheld devices on the basis of proximity and customer preferences.
Regulators/government institutions are setting the standards regarding the collection and
sharing of car data. They are also in a position to mandate car data-enabled services that
support the public good, such as emergency call features, and regulate controversial topics,
such as technical certification of the connected vehicles, data ownership rights, and intel-
lectual property rights over shared technologies and services. Working with infrastructure
operators on big data, regulators can also seek to minimize congestion and reduce car
accidents using traffic flow data analysis.
The three main value creation models of car data monetization

Players in this evolving automotive space are creating value from car data in one (or in a
combination) of three overarching categories (Exhibit 10). First, players are generating
revenue through the sale of products/services to customers, tailored advertising, and the
sale of data to third parties. Second, they are using car data to reduce costs by, for example,
making R&D more efficient or minimizing the need for repairs. Third, players are increasing
safety and security by leveraging car data’s ability to speed up safety interventions that pro-
tect drivers from physical harm or from the theft of their belongings or personal information.
Exhibit 10 Industry players may focus on 3 main macrocategories of

value creation models
Increasing safety
Generating revenues Reducing costs and security
Direct monetization R&D and material costs reduction Reducing time for intervention
Selling products, features, or Gathering product field data to Collecting and forwarding warnings
services to the customer reduce development costs or to in real time, pointing in the right
optimize materials and designs to direction, and sharing critical
Tailored advertising the actual usage of the product/ information in advance
Leveraging car data to push service itself
individual offerings to customers
Customers’ costs reduction
Selling data Analyzing actual product/services
Collecting, analyzing, and reselling usage patterns to reduce custom-
big data to 3rd parties ers’ usage, repair, and downtime
costs
Improved customer satisfaction
Better tailoring product/services to
customer needs
SOURCE: McKinsey
The car data monetization use cases
Within the three value creation models discussed above, we identified more than 30 distinct
use cases that hold the potential to monetize car data (Text Box 3).
Text Box 3 Overview of distinct use cases
Value creation Use cases
models
Generating Direct monetization Over-the-air software Usage-based tolling
revenues Selling products, add-ons and taxation
features, or services to
Networked parking “Gamified”/social-like
the customer
service driving experience
Tracking/theft protec- Fleet management
tion service solutions
Vehicle usage monitor- Remote car perfor-
ing and scoring mance configuration
Connected navigation In-car hot spot
service
Onboard delivery
of mobility-related
contents/services
Onboard platform to
purchase non-driving-
related goods
Tailored advertising Predictive maintenance
Leveraging car data to
push individual Targeted advertise-
offerings to customers ments and promotions
Reducing costs R&D and material costs Warranty costs Data-/feedback-based
reduction reduction R&D optimization
Gathering product
Traffic-data-based retail
field data for
footprint and stock level
development
optimization
Customers’ costs Usage-based Car pooling
reduction insurance –
Analyzing actual usage PAYD/PHYD
patterns to reduce
Driving style P2P car sharing
repair and downtime
suggestions
costs
E-hailing Trucks platooning
Improved customer Early recall detection

satisfaction and software updates
Better tailoring product/
services to customer
needs
Increasing safety Reducing time for Driver’s condition Aggregated car data-
and security intervention monitoring service based CCTV service
Collecting and forward-
Improved road/infra- Road laws monitoring
ing warnings in real
structure maintenance and enforcement
time, pointing in the
and design
right direction
Breakdown call service
Emergency call service
Depending on the use case and on the players along its value chain, a use case could generate value
for a set of players, but also “destroy” value for other players
1 A “car data core use case” is defined as a use case that can only exist through car data (e.g., predictive maintenance)
2 A “car data-enabled use case” is defined as a use case that either does not strictly need the car environment to exist
(e.g., in-car hot spot) or needs car data to “function,” but car data is not the key enabler for the existence of the use case
“Enhanced value” by autonomy “Reduced value” by autonomy Autonomy not relevant

Core use case 1
Enabled use case 2
Depending on the use case and on the players along its value chain, a use case could
generate value for certain players but also destroy value for others. In fact, the value of
these use cases for industry players ranges widely and is a function of a large set of driv-
ers, among which are:
Customers’ adoption rate and willingness to pay, driving the economic attractiveness of
the opportunity
Value chain complexity, possibly forcing a large number of players to partner (e.g., in the
case of “networked parking” or “e-call/b-call services” use cases)
Access and ability to shape the critical control points in the value chain and technology
stack required for the use case (as shown in Exhibit 14)
Actual ability of the organization to quickly react and leverage car data and insights, set-
ting the timing for revenues and profits generation.
Fear of cannibalization of the existing business is also frequently regarded as a limiting

factor. One relevant example is “pay as you drive/pay how you drive” insurance offerings:
insurance players struggled for years to determine whether the net effect of a higher
penetration of these offerings would be beneficial or detrimental to their overall revenue
pool (despite the customer pull for more tailored insurance pricing).
Text Box 4 Deep dive on monetization options
Methods of monetization can vary significantly. Very often, direct monetization (i.e., “selling
services to end customers or B2B clients for money”) is considered as the first, and often
the only, monetization option to be pursued. Nonetheless, in the sharing economy, new
use cases based on sharing cost savings are more and more common. B2B customers in
particular are increasingly expecting to get the benefits before paying for the ongoing cost
of a data-related partnership.
Even in the case of direct monetization of features and services, the value can be captured
via different modes, reflecting the purchasing attitudes and needs of local customers. In
fact, the price can be:
Rolled into vehicle (or mobility service) price
Charged as a one-off payment after the initial vehicle purchase, often via an after-
market channel
Paid regularly as a subscription, such as an annual fee for navigation map updates
Deducted/debited from a rechargeable credit, as offered for selected content

downloads
Covered by monetizing tailored advertising pushed to the end customers or elabo-

rating, analyzing, and reselling data generated by these use cases.
Through the survey, we analyzed customers’ willingness to pay and preferred payment
methods, and very significant differences are visible across use cases. Let us take the
example of networked parking (the possibility to know in advance which parking spots are
available, book them, and pay remotely) and connected navigation (providing real-time
information on traffic, road hazards, recommended routes, and map updates through the
in-car navigation system). While the interest in the use case is high for both examples, the
difference in customers’ willingness to pay is very significant (Exhibits 11 and 12).
Exhibit 11 Majority of consumers are willing to go for the “paid” version of the “networked
parking” service, and the highest preference is for paying a one-time price at
time of download
Question: What would be your preferred subscription model
for the “networked parking” app/service?
Percent of respondents by subscription option
Car owners N = 509

9 Additional cost per parking
event, USD 1
19 Fixed monthly fee, USD 20
Prefer
free version with Prefer paid
27 73
advertising and version One-time price at time
data sharing 72 of vehicle purchase,
USD 300
SOURCE: McKinsey Car Data Monetization Consumer Survey 2016, N = 509 car owners across Germany, the USA, and China
Exhibit 12 Among those (33%) who prefer the paid version of “connected navigation”,
there is higher preference for paying a one-time charge at time of download
Question: What would be your preferred subscription model for the

“connected navigation” app/service?
Percent respondents by subscription option, among those who prefer paid version
Car owners N = 593
43 Pay per usage, USD 1
Prefer
free version with Prefer paid
67 33
advertising and version
data sharing
One-time payment to activate
57
the service, USD 20
The lower willingness to pay for connected navigation services was also identified in our
customer clinics; consumers frequently declared that they were used to the free navigation
apps on their smartphones/handheld devices and preferred to stick to the familiar interface
of those apps.
Equally significant disparities are visible across different markets, reflecting diverse local
needs and perceptions of the validity of alternative offerings. Let us look again at the
“connected navigation” use case (Exhibit 13).
Exhibit 13 Mass market car owners in China and Germany exhibit higher levels of
willingness to pay for connected navigation
Question: What would be your preferred subscription model for “connected navigation”
app/service?
Percent respondents who prefer any of the paid options instead of a free version
supported by ads/customer feedback
Premium Mass market
N = 120 N = 473
Germany 38 45
USA 41 28
China 28 35
Ø 35 Ø 36
Overall, premium car owners’ willingness to pay is higher in Germany and the USA than in
China. This might reflect the fact that Chinese premium car buyers often prefer to be driven
rather than to drive. Moreover, their average age is higher than that of mass market car
buyers. Conversely, US buyers of mass market cars are used to free or “freemium” naviga-
tion apps, and the lack of integration in the car cockpit bothers them less than their German
and Chinese counterparts.
The speed of implementation depends on a number of factors. Technological availability

and affordability are certainly important, but customer pull is essential. Getting customers to
demand features they have yet to experience is definitely a difficult proposition. Players may
have to work hard to communicate the benefits of the car data-enabled feature to an other-
wise unreceptive audience that is likely not to fully grasp its potential.
Text Box 5 Four (tire) square: connectivity makes driving social and fun
Beyond safety and convenience, connectivity opens the door to making mobility fun. As
driving becomes increasingly autonomous, drivers will have more time not only to make
their commutes productive but also to enjoy that time in social contexts as well.
The data generated by the car can be enriched to serve as the foundation of a social
experience among driving peers, taking interaction between drivers to new levels. With
access to drivers’ location, driving style, pictures, and other data – directly from the
driver as well as from the OEM – platform providers can offer participating drivers a
social and interactive experience much like that enabled by the search-and-discovery
service, Foursquare. With in-car screens and augmented reality as the interface, this
type of data also has the potential to support interactive games between drivers.
What is fun for drivers can be quite lucrative for the players who control car data’s
social space. OEMs selling the service to customers and advertisers paying for the
data are among the business models that might contribute to the value of the data-
enabled social driving experience, which is expected to have an estimated value of
USD 7 - 8 billion by 2030.
Laying the groundwork to develop and, thus, monetize these experiences will require
investments in car technologies, such as cameras to capture the driver’s image and other
sensors, as well as in a communications platform. Multiple players can cooperate and
compete in this arena: OEMs, suppliers, gaming software houses, and telcos would also
have a stake in the game as would third-party tech players, like the social media giants,
who could gain more in-car access to their users.
The way to make the entire concept work is to communicate its value to customers.
“Who needs driving to be social or a game?” is likely to be a response from consumers
who have yet to experience it. But, if the enthusiastic global response to the Pokémon
GO phenomenon is any indication, the value of a social/gaming experience that goes
beyond living rooms and extends into the “real” world is massive, and its appeal
becomes apparent the moment consumers get a chance to try it.
Other use cases can be challenged in their definition and deployment by the complex
interaction across different players in the value chain but still have high potential to create
significant value for the customer. In these cases, disruptive change happens frequently,
potentially bringing into the arena new players that attempt to become the reference point.
Text Box 6 Monetization from “vehicle usage monitoring and scoring”:
a car data use case
Car data has the potential to enable an unprecedented level of vehicle usage monitor-
ing. Data captured by car sensors and GPS can provide a complete historical record
of exactly how the vehicle has been driven (including car crashes, average speed,
overload, type of roads driven) along with its full maintenance and repair history.
This level of information is of particular value in the used-car market. In this use case, for
example, either the OEM itself or an external provider, such as a telematics services
player, might collect vehicle usage data on a regular basis. Data could be enriched by,
for example, matching vehicle history with external sources (e.g., end customer profile,
feedback provided to the aftersales services), and a synthetic “used-car usage score”
could be elaborated for that specific vehicle. OEM dealerships and certified preowned
programs could be provided with this score along with detailed usage/maintenance
information that would allow them to provide a very factual valuation of the trade-in
vehicle and cost-optimally refurbish used vehicles (not fixing what is not broken).
This usage-based score would allow used-car professionals to provide would-be buyers
with the added assurance of knowing the precise condition of the vehicle. Making it
cheaper to certify a used vehicle, this data-enabled feature may allow resellers to sell cars
that are in better condition at a higher price.
Vehicle usage and monitoring also has implications for the warranties issued by OEMs
and the policies issued by insurers. Information on usage that is directly attributable to a
particular driver gives both entities opportunities to make data-informed adjustments to
their contracts with customers.
Nonetheless, implications for the overall value chain might be even more profound.
If the “used-car usage score” were available to car owners at any point in time, this
would provide a solid option to certify the quality of a used vehicle, representing an
alternative to the traditional certified preowned programs. This might accelerate the
growth of peer-to-peer used-car sales, reducing the uncertainty associated with
buying cars from strangers.
Full autonomy as accelerator (or killer) of car data use cases

One of the core elements of all of the car data-related use cases is how customers can
interact with the technology, activate the required functions, and enjoy the benefits.
Let us think about car infotainment systems: today they are mainly engineered to allow
for audio and basic interactive content to be provided to a driver, who is (supposed to
be) fully concentrated on the critical task of driving. How would the car infotainment
change, once fully autonomous vehicles are on the market and drivers/riders have the
freedom to devote themselves to other tasks? How much more content and how many
more movies and virtual-reality videogames could be sold if drivers could enjoy them
while riding in their autonomous vehicles?
More broadly, full autonomy might be the main enabler for certain use cases, such as
offering virtual-reality movies or games to drivers/riders. Further, full autonomy may increase
the value of some use cases (e.g., selling a larger number of features and products to drivers
through the car as platform) while possibly decreasing the value of others (e.g., providing
driving style-related tips and suggestions).
Control points are critical to fully capture the value creation potential
The possibility to actually capture value from the car data-enabled use cases discussed
above will depend on the players’ ability to establish themselves in the new car data value
chain and gain access to customer data. In fact, we identified a set of control points that
span across in-car technologies, connection, and the cloud. Whoever gets access and
shapes the control point is in the best position to capture the value of the car data-enabled
feature (Exhibit 14).
Exhibit 14 A set of control points will determine who captures future profits and where
companies will need to focus to compete successfully
Area Control points Rationale

“Inside the car” HMI1
▪ Key for customer experience
Data gateway2 ▪ Gateway to the customer Critical
control point
▪ Enabler to increase value of extracted data
Customer ID
App store/ecosystem ▪ Critical to increase willingness to spend and
Billing platform ensure loyalty
IVI3 OS
Apps/content
CPU/control unit
Car sensors/actuators ▪ Potential control points if they give the right to
use car data
“Connection to cloud” Mobile connection
“Data cloud” Granular map data
Dynamic real-time geo-
information
1 Includes OS and personal identification information

2 E.g., OBD II port, mobile data connection, radio, USB port
3 In-vehicle infotainment
SOURCE: McKinsey Connected Car
Of course, in-car technologies are not the only data gateway to customers: smartphones,
tablets, and other personal devices represent viable alternatives to deliver contents and
services. Safety- and practicality-related considerations, however, lead us to believe that
a seamless integration between external devices and the car’s infotainment system will
become paramount to deliver more complex offers to drivers and passengers. Whether the
apps and software enabling these offerings will reside in the car’s systems or will mirror what
is installed in the customers’ handheld device is still an open topic for industry players.
We will tackle the technological enablers in detail in the following, but it is worth noting how
gaining access to car data and being able to link the data streams to the ID (identification
code) of the customer who generated the data, are critical elements to monetize.
Putting the three key technical enablers in place
Car data monetization relies on three main enabler sets, spanning across very different
layers: in-car technologies, infrastructural technologies, and back-end processes
(Exhibit 15).
Exhibit 15 The car data ecosystem relies on 3 main enabler sets: in-car technologies,
infrastructures, and back-end processes
Car data ecosystem
In-car technologies Infrastructures Back-end processes
SOURCE: McKinsey
Although significant progress and even a few major breakthroughs have been achieved –
almost all of them in recent years – there are still a number of open technical questions
that need to be solved across each layer before car data monetization can reach its full
economic potential.
The development of these enablers is the domain of OEMs, suppliers, infrastructure

operators, and a host of digital players. To orient players to the landscape of what car data
capture, analysis, and usage require, the following three subchapters lay out a detailed
description of each enabling element by category.
“The car is a browser for the physical world.”
– Shared mobility player
In-car technologies
The ability to monetize car data hinges on the technological development (and actual
customer acceptance) of in-car technology in eight specific areas (Exhibit 16):
Exhibit 16 Overview of in-car technologies required to enable car data monetization
A | Vehicle technical sensors
B | Environment sensors
C | High-performance computing
D | Reimagined human-machine
interface and customer ID
E | Software platform
F | Connectivity
G | On-board data storage
H | Location/navigation
SOURCE: McKinsey
Vehicle technical sensors monitor the vehicle’s performance status, track malfunctions,
and enable remote/predictive maintenance capabilities. Moreover, collecting data on
running cars allows OEMs and suppliers to observe how their products withstand usage and
establish a clear cause-effect relationship for breakdowns. Setting type and frequency of
data gathering and integrating the findings with R&D processes still represent an open point
that OEMs and suppliers are tackling.
Environment sensors detect data related to whatever is around the car (e.g., road, weather,
nearby vehicles and hazards) and inside of the car (e.g., driver, passengers, and cargo).
Thinking specifically of the driver, an array of fingerprint sensors, cameras, and microphones
already monitor the drivers’ presence and attention. An even larger set of sensors could be
fitted to monitor a driver’s physical condition/vital signs (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure) or
sobriety. Monetization opportunities here will largely depend on the degree to which
customers are willing to share bio-information about themselves and their passengers.
High-performance computing enables the real-time processing and communication that are
central to unlocking the potential of car data. Key decisions in this area of in-car technology
include determining which elements of computing are performed onboard vs. in the cloud
and if the hardware will be upgradable.
HMI and customer ID. The HMI is the set of technologies by which end customers access/
activate the vehicle’s features and receive the outputs of the vehicle’s computing in response.
Buttons, touch screens, voice commands, and visual/gesture recognition sensors among the
technologies that must be reimagined to create an optimal user experience (see Text Box 7).
Text Box 7 Deep dive on the HMI (r-)evolution
Three main technologies will have the potential to revolutionize the HMI going forward.
1. Voice-activated smart virtual assistants
High-tech players started launching “virtual assistants” years ago, with the goal of help-
ing customers navigate the functions of their devices. Microsoft’s “Clippy” is a very early
example. The range and precision of the answers provided by these assistants grew
exponentially along with computing power, access to the cloud (allowing for remote
elaboration), and deep-learning algorithms, allowing the refinement of answers on the
basis of the feedback received by users. Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google Now are
among the most famous smart assistants that high-tech giants are aggressively pushing
on the market. One fundamental rationale for this push is that these assistants typically
represent a compelling feature to motivate customers to provide access to a larger num-
ber of data types. These virtual assistants become smarter and more useful as the user
feeds more information into the system. Calendar content, e-mails, preferences, user-
generated recommendations on products and services, and GPS current and historic
positions are highly relevant data sets. The combination of these data sets might enable
our cars to suggest something like “Your lunchtime meeting has been cancelled, and a
table for two at your favorite sushi restaurant nearby has just become available. A route
that avoids current traffic can get you there in five minutes – wanna book and reroute?”
The voice activation is a critical element for customer acceptance. In the customer
clinics we conducted in collaboration with LUNAR, HMI complexity and customers’
lack of familiarity with car OEMs’ interfaces were often referred to as “real annoyances”
hindering the enjoyment of more complex services. Having a natural conversation
with virtual assistants has the potential to relieve the customer from the complexity
of functions/services activation and would allow OEMs to provide tailored, proactive
recommendations more naturally and effectively.
“The customer ID race is the million dollars issue for us.”
– Digital advertiser
2. Customer ID
Customer registration has long been regarded as a boring and yet indispensable step to
access Web-based services: from opening an e-mail account to subscribing to a cloud-based
music service. The endless entry of information on structured forms often discouraged flocks
of users from registering on “yet another site.” Nonetheless, tracking customers’ identity has
an enormous value for businesses: besides enabling the purchase itself from a legal and trans-
actional point of view, it allows industry players to track and analyze customers that engage
with them and to tailor their offering accordingly. Moreover, a “string” of data is much more
valuable once the ID is available. Knowing that, for example, 10 customers drive past a store
every hour is useful for a retailer; knowing their gender, work, education level, and preferences
along with having a reliable proxy for their income is significantly more valuable and actionable.
Establishing a simple way to collect the customer ID has been central for businesses, and it is
why high-tech giants offer customer ID solutions, such as Facebook’s “Facebook Login,” the
Apple account, or the Google ID.
In this context, the automotive industry can be considered a laggard in the matter of structurally
tracking each event to a single customer ID: often the same customer is registered separately
by “new,” “used,” and “aftersales” divisions of a car OEM. Most progressive OEMs (often in the
premium segment) have recently started to pursue a “single ID” approach but face significant
complexity due to legacy systems and fragmentation in dealer management systems.
In this sense, establishing a single customer ID to match each “car data string” with the profile of
the user who generated it is highly critical to fully capturing the car data monetization opportunity
for industry players. As an example, let us think about a family car driven by all members of the
household: if the system were to infer musical preferences of the driver considering all the music
played over a day by each family member, it might end up recommending a terrible mix of dif-
ferent and unrelated musical genres. Similarly, location-based advertising from a soccer mer-
chandising store would be much more valuable if the only soccer fan in the family were actually
in the car at the time the ad was pushed. Of course, all of this requires an even greater focus on
protecting personal ID integrity and confidentiality by all players in the mobility ecosystem.
“The challenge for industry players is that data will not be

car centric, but customer centric.”
– European premium OEM
3. Virtual reality
One of the big technological revolutions of 2016 is the launch of a wide array of virtual-reality head
sets for consumer application. Movies, videogames, even Web browsing can be taken to the next
level of customer involvement once a fully immersive experience can be provided to their users.
Automotive has started to embrace this type of technology for multiple early applications, for
example, helping engineers to review digital mock-ups of their designs or allowing car buy-
ers to visualize their future car in 3-D, instantly changing trim level and colors.
A more fundamental change might occur in the short term, though. As customers already
look at their small phones while in the car (and unfortunately often while driving), what would
car passengers do if virtual-reality headsets delivered on their promise of high-quality audio
and fully immersive video experience? As an added bonus, VR headsets can help reduce
motion sickness due to eye-tracking technologies that are already being tested for appli-
cation in autonomous vehicles. In this sense, cars’ HMI related to infotainment (i.e., screens,
loudspeakers) might be challenged by the offerings of consumer electronics players active
in virtual-reality offerings, who would find themselves best positioned to monetize from it.
Moreover, once full autonomy becomes available, this proposition could easily be extended
to the driver/rider.
Software platforms support the vehicle’s various applications as well as the protocols for
high-speed data transmission. Questions regarding the reliability of over-the-air software
updates and which of those updates consumers will pay for are fundamental to successful
car data monetization.
Connectivity concerns the link between the vehicle, its onboard sensors and devices, and
the Internet. The gateways of connectivity include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, RFID, and radio,
but it is perhaps the high-speed 4G/5G modem gateway that comes with the biggest
challenges. As vehicles travel, geographical gaps in high-speed data connectivity become
an issue that must be resolved, along with the (currently significant) cost of continuous
data connectivity.
Onboard data storage is the local hardware repository for data generated by the vehicle.
Necessary developments in this area include determining which data is stored onboard
and who has access to it (e.g., insurers) as well as ensuring that this data is protected from
external attackers.
Location/navigation technologies are also critical enablers of car data monetization. Which
map’s “technical archetype” to adopt, how maps are updated, and how vehicle location
(i.e., GPS) information is stored, shared, and transmitted are among the critical decisions
going forward for industry players.
“When talking about infrastructural technologies, the traditional setup

does not work anymore. There is a need for a joint business/technology
view, and at times technology sets the pace for services innovation.”
– Insurance
Infrastructural technologies
Beyond the processors, sensors, and gateways with which the vehicle itself is equipped
lies a network of external technologies that are “grounded” in the road itself or related to the
operation of the in-car technologies. This infrastructure comprises eight technologies, the
development of which is fundamental to car data monetization (Exhibit 17):
High-speed data towers provide the 4G/5G connectivity required of vehicles traveling at high
speed, but adequate coverage is key to maintaining continuous and reliable performance.
The deployment speed and cost of the towers are central issues, and an array of alternative
connectivity technologies (e.g., satellite based) are being explored for low-density areas.
V2X communication is the data link between a vehicle and the infrastructure and between
a vehicle and other vehicles. The successful transmission of traffic, safety, and social data
may depend, in large part, on the development of standard formats and frequencies that
facilitate this communication. The standardization of communication protocols represents
an ongoing challenge for industry players, even more so considering safety-critical commu-
nications for autonomous vehicles.
Exhibit 17 Extending beyond the car, 8 infrastructure technologies will enable
car data monetization
Big data analytics
High-speed
Data cloud
data towers
V2X communication Software platforms
Connected car
Smart-road High-definition
infrastructure maps
High-resolution
positioning
(GPS)
SOURCE: McKinsey
Smart-road infrastructure includes smart traffic lights, emergency signals, parking garage
sensors, and a wider array of devices that collect real-time data and react to traffic conditions
and challenges to increase safety and efficiency. As costs to fit/retrofit the road system are
likely to be significant, multiple questions about financing the investment by cash-strapped
governments and municipalities have yet to be fully answered.
Big data analytics are required to process the large amounts of data generated by connected
cars on the road in real time. Industry players are often developing internal competences
in advanced analytics that will enable them to leverage this strategic asset (Text Box 8).
Specialized players, in turn, are offering their capabilities to assist them in performing the
analyses and ramping up internal teams.
Data cloud acts as the remote repository for the massive amounts of data generated by
connected cars. The required capacity and redundancy, security levels, and access rights
are often the critical elements to be determined.
Software platforms will support the operating systems, app store, and payment systems of
the car data infrastructure. More and more players rely on a large number of external program-
mers to expand their apps offering while at the same time ensuring high quality standards
and keeping costs under control. The ability to generate a positive business case for external
start-ups and software developers is a key element of success for software ecosystems.
High-definition maps will integrate different layers of information to be collected from

multiple sources, including specialized players (e.g., basic road maps, weather condi-
tions), free sources (e.g., location of police cars), and crowd-sourced information from
cars and handheld devices (e.g., traffic, distress signals from vehicles activating e-call
and b-call). The integration and continuous update of these layers implies significant
complexity and, again, is highly valuable for autonomous vehicles.
High-resolution positioning (GPS) leverages satellite networks to determine – down to
the inch – exactly where a vehicle is located, an essential piece of information to enable
autonomous driving.
Text Box 8 Data as a strategic asset
As we extensively discussed, data is the fundamental enabler of a multitude of use cases

that generate significant economic value for their holders. It also requires a significant set
of back-end processes and costly infrastructures to be captured, secured, analyzed, and
leveraged. As such, data is an asset, an intangible, measurable asset that is still partly
overlooked by large automotive players, both in terms of mapping available assets and
valuing them.
Mapping is core to understanding what data is available to deploy relevant use cases, what
data sources are being leveraged, the degree of uniqueness of available assets (e.g., are we
the only holders of critical information? Can we contact our customers directly?), and which
partnerships or acquisitions can/should be sealed to expand the data assets base.
Valuing of data assets is critical as it provides a structured, quantitative way to prioritize

investments and use cases. As car data-related business cases will require more and
more capital by players in the value chain, a strict methodology to assess the value of
critical data assets is central to ensuring the correct prioritization of investments and
initiatives (Exhibit 18).
Exhibit 18 Data is a relatively new type of asset – mapping and valuing it requires ad hoc
approaches and capabilities, already mastered by digital players
Methodology to
Measurability Valuation methods valuate data assets Description
Tangible Precisely “Hard” methodologies Cost value Replacement cost: cost to

assets measurable ▪ Mark to market rebuild or reacquire data
▪ DCF
▪ Cost of Economic “Use case” Sum of economic values/
reproduction/ value approach business cases of
repurchase potential use cases using
techniques like DCF,
Intangible Data assets Measurable No established data scenario analysis, real
assets valuation methodology options, stochastic simulation
▪ Gartner’s Doug
Laney published “Deep Determines "deep"
articles on value” information value of data
“infonomics,” mostly approach for owner based on (i) value
conceptual of underlying economic
entity, (ii) data quality/value
Other Usually through “Weak” methodologies uplift, and (iii) applicability/
(e.g., brand) proxies, e.g., using proxies accrual to owner
human capital ▪ Goodwill (in M&A)
▪ Earnings surplus, Transaction value Value of market transaction
e.g., premium when data is traded at arm’s
charged by a brand length
SOURCE: McKinsey
In our industry executive roundtable meetings we extensively discussed the issue of “data as
an asset,” highlighting a very sharp difference in current awareness and readiness between
players involved:
Best-practice digital players and shared mobility players consistently reported that
they held and maintained a complete mapping and valuation of their data assets, even
prioritizing their R&D efforts and M&A strategy on the basis of the expected growth in
their data assets base.
Many of the major car OEMs, suppliers, and infrastructure players
—— Reported that they had neither a holistic mapping of their data assets nor a process
to regularly evaluate them
—— Claimed that IT was the only department to have visibility on data availability and
quality, while strategic business functions did not have a clear understanding of the
current situation.
Going forward, shareholders will increasingly look at intangible assets as enablers for long-term
value creation, and major industry players in automotive will be required to develop and maintain
crystal-clear transparency regarding the value and risks associated with their data assets.
Back-end processes and operations

A host of players will make up the network of organizations that facilitate the processes
regarding the capture, transmission, storage, analysis, and sharing of information that
enable car data monetization (Exhibit 19).
Exhibit 19 Several players will coordinate the back-end processes that NOT EXHAUSTIVE
enable car data monetization

Technical
regulator
Policy maker
Coordinated
emergency
response
control center 3rd party/OEM
data
Traffic center
control tower Data
Dealer/ aggressors/
service center anonymizers
Cybersecurity
specialists
Content
provider
Advertising
specialists
Road
infrastructure Billing/tolling
operator player
SOURCE: McKinsey
Policy makers and technical regulators will establish the laws that govern traffic and establish
the standards for data- and connectivity-enabled features, e.g., autonomous vehicles. For
both bodies, customer protection that does not stifle business innovation will be key to foster
successful car data monetization models. Tackling the issues related to the concept of data
ownership, the rights of database owners, data anonymization/pseudonymization, and
mandatory data security measures will be critical in accelerating (or hindering) the develop-
ment of the use cases described above.
Car data can obviously be leveraged to better regulate the traffic flow for safety, security, CO2
abatement, and efficiency. Two players will be key here. Traffic control towers might be created
to collect data from local traffic, analyze it in real time, and take active decisions on routes and
traffic flows. A flood is threatening a coastal area? A car crash is locking down a highway exit?
A major concert is expected to clog the stadium area? Push recommendations to drivers
(and authorities on the field) need to be defined in real time. Additionally, emergency response
control centers will dispatch the required service teams (e.g., ambulances, fire department,
police, roadside assistance) leveraging the same data infrastructure.
Similarly, road infrastructure operators will have the task of managing the smart traffic
lights, variable tolling booths, and other smart-road features. This might be critical also
in case of emergency, for example, giving free access to safe toll roads in case of a
major earthquake or crisis.
On the pure data side, data aggregators will collect car-generated information from vari-
ous sources, and third-party/OEM data centers will store, analyze, and enrich this data.
Both players will need to develop strategies that facilitate the exchange of information while
protecting customer privacy. This, among other things, will involve cybersecurity specialists,
whose task it will be to protect stakeholders from attacks that not only threaten to steal criti-
cal information but also have the power to risk the physical safety of drivers and pedestrians
(Text Box 9). These players have an especially interesting task ahead of them, as survey
results indicate a significant gap between the majority of automotive players who consider
cyber attacks a threat and those who are actually taking steps to protect their customers
(Exhibit 20).
Exhibit 20 OEMs are aware of the cybersecurity threat, but less than half are prepared for
the threat; suppliers’ preparedness is even worse
There is a disparity between OEM’s awareness of … and a further disparity between OEMs
threats and the execution of countermeasures … and their suppliers
Percent, proportion of OEM survey respondents Percent, proportion of survey respondents

OEMs Suppliers
Rating product exposure to Rating product exposure 83

cybersecurity risks as medium 83 to cybersecurity risks as
to high medium to high 69
OEM's consider that cybersecurity

Consider cybersecurity 35
teams are well prepared and
47 of external partners as
continuously updated about
important to very important 10
threats and countermeasures
OEMs have a dedicated Consider cybersecurity as 62

cybersecurity unit set up for 41 high on the agenda of
the product top management 46
SOURCE: McKinsey SecureCar survey (September 2015)
The retail/e-commerce opportunity made possible by car data directly involves two additional
players. Advertising specialists will have the capability to provide more targeted advertising
based on enhanced car data-enabled customer profiles, but this will hinge on their ability to
work with OEMs to develop advertising propositions that are acceptable to drivers. Content
providers will be instrumental in the development of, for example, data-enriched shopping
Web sites optimized for the in-car experience.
Dealers and service centers will seek ways to leverage data to boost sales and bring drivers
in for maintenance, and payments players will establish platforms to facilitate the collection
of fees/tolls for mobility-related services.
“What we can do on a browser and on a phone is different even

though it seems to be the same … it could again be very different
in a car. Enriching, contextualizing advertising in cars is a great,
new opportunity!”
– Advertising specialist, Silicon Valley
Text Box 9 Deep dive on digital defense: the cybersecurity challenge in car
data monetization
One of the key risks of digital in automotive is the threat of a purposeful attack that compro-
mises sensitive information or menaces the safe operation of a vehicle. Among the threats
posed by attackers are targeting and disabling a vehicle’s safety systems, exploiting navi
gation/positioning information, and using a vehicle’s infotainment system as a gateway to
wiretap apps and gain access to personal information.
McKinsey’s “secure car” research from 2015 suggests that most OEMs (83 percent) con-
sider cybersecurity a real concern. When it comes to proactively addressing the threat,
however, less than half have operational cybersecurity units. Compared to other industries,
automotive players – namely OEMs and suppliers – are behind the maturity curve when it
comes to cyber-defense capabilities. Even among those with up-and-running cybersecurity
units, less than half are confident in the capacity of their units to fully handle the threat.
Competence in cybersecurity is essential to car data monetization, and players in this

space need to explore three key questions:
Who are the potential attackers and what are their incentives? Today’s cyber threats
come from a wide array of different potential attackers, which range from highly sophisticated
state-sponsored adversaries to insiders helping external hackers or initiating their own incur-
sions. They can be suppliers seeking advantages in negotiations or litigation, criminals look-
ing for customer data, disgruntled customers, or competitors attempting to disrupt business.
What are the valuable data assets that need to be protected? Hackers work to get access
to cars’ internal networks and their electronic control units (ECUs) that “govern” everything from
the infotainment system to the engine, brakes, and steering.
What are the points of attack and what is the associated risk? The cybersecurity risk
for connected cars is of particular importance. A breach that allows external access to a
car’s network can certainly compromise the privacy of a driver’s data, but there’s much
more at stake; the cybersecurity threat in connected/autonomous cars can be a matter of
life and death. Within older car architectures most critical systems were interconnected,
potentially allowing an attacker to gain access to safety-critical systems of the car. Hackers
have the ability to attack systems to steal personal data, compromise infotainment/
navigation GPS units, and neutralize vehicle alarm systems. What is worse, they might even
threaten drivers’ physical safety if they manage to hijack systems like steering and braking.
Besides the potential physical harm, security breaches can cause severe reputational
damages to car manufacturers and their suppliers and reduce confidence in advanced
driving assistance systems (ADAS) and, further along, in autonomous vehicles.
Part of the challenge of being fully prepared to address the cybersecurity threat in automotive
is the industry’s unique set of challenges:
Increasing complexity. The number of potential points of attack in a car is already high
enough to make a full-scale defense a very challenging task. In the coming years, the number
of an OEM’s potential targets is expected to increase. One core driver of this phenomenon
is the fact that the number of vehicle nodes (i.e., electronic controlling units or ECUs) keeps
increasing to support the demand for additional functionalities. Today, an average vehicle
may contain around 30 units, and more complex vehicle systems can be comprised of up to
100 units. Moreover, each unit requires a significant amount of dedicated software, implying that
a single car today might require 100 million lines of software code (more than some fighter
jets), potentially increasing software vulnerability.
Multiple stakeholders. Development of countermeasures is difficult as connected car

systems involve multiple stakeholders from a fragmented supply chain with a high integration
risk. The 30 to 100 control units per vehicle described above can be the contribution of more
than 20 different suppliers. A high number of components developed and manufactured
by multiple suppliers means an increased risk of compromised cybersecurity. Specifically,
regardless of the strength of the individual components, poor integration can result in a
vulnerable network of interconnected elements. Recent successful cyber attacks on cars
leveraged the peculiar vulnerability that can result from an interconnection in which individual
components are perfectly secure on their own, but software/hardware integration under
“diffused authority” (i.e., multiple players and separate, siloed engineering departments) led
to a compromised system.
Supplier vulnerability. OEMs are used to getting support from their suppliers in areas like
quality or product innovation. Unfortunately, when it comes to cybersecurity, suppliers
appear to be less prepared than OEMs. In McKinsey’s 2015 “secure car” survey, only
10 percent of the industry executives from car suppliers we interviewed rated “cybersecurity”
high on their top management’s agenda compared to 35 percent of OEMs. Around
45 percent of suppliers consider the level of cybersecurity of their subsuppliers and external
partners as being an important/very important selection factor, compared to more than
60 percent of automakers.
While ensuring that customers’ safety and personal information are protected is paramount,
the risks of overprotection are a barrier to innovation and might imply extremely high invest-
ment costs. In this sense, the optimal level of protection provides adequate security, allocates
security funds efficiently, and does not inhibit innovation.
Building capabilities and partnerships
Industry players seeking their niche in the car data value chain must successfully tackle
the challenges described so far. They need to communicate the value of car data-
enabled features to customers, build promising business models, and develop/shape
the various elements of the car data ecosystem in ways that enable monetization.
Ultimately, however, players will only be as successful as their organizational structure
and capabilities allow: adequate capability building requires a clear strategic shift
towards digitization across the entire organization and developing productive partner-
ships with leading players in the digital space.
Organizational (re-)structuring
The organizational implications of the increasing role of digital in vehicles, with its fast
product development and obsolescence cycles, will be profound for automotive players.
Fitting more connectivity features into the car requires what is typically called “2-speed
R&D/IT” in order to push fast developments in software, virtual prototyping, human-machine
collaboration, and intelligent tools, while the development of vehicle architectures and
backbone IT systems still implies much longer development cycles. Successful car data
monetization will also require players to build capabilities in digital sales channels: providing
a seamless multichannel experience (i.e., in the dealership, at home, on the road) and tailoring
commercial propositions to each customer through big data analytics will be critical trends
to benefit from. Similarly, car sharing and data-driven business models entail that organiza-
tions develop sophisticated digital services.
This massive shift towards digital technology is compelling many traditional automotive
companies to ask themselves what organizational changes are required to deliver on
this digital mandate. Many of them are also realizing the degree to which their traditional
ways of working are not always conducive to developing game changing innovations at
the speed they require.
In fact, in our industry roundtables, greater freedom from rigid corporate procedures was
raised often as a major advantage of start-ups (and selected high-tech players) over tradi-
tional automotive players. In order to achieve this, Silicon Valley start-ups and best-practice
tech players typically:
Foster digital innovation through structured incentives and allow their employees to
propose and experiment new ideas in their working hours
Do not constrain early development stages with the typical “conglomerate” approval
processes (e.g., related to purchasing, product testing)
Rely heavily on field experimentation rather than lengthy strategic thinking
Benefit from informal ideas exchanges with suppliers, partners, and even competitors.
“We have plenty of ideas on connectivity, but our execution is too

slow, there are too many constraints. By the time we can get to
market, other players claim the innovation crown, and our people
get extremely frustrated.”
– Major car OEM, Asia
The organizational (re-)structuring should be based on four main building blocks:
1. Advanced analytics capabilities. Successful digital players (native and nonnative) have
already established teams and capabilities on advanced analytics. Automotive players can
look to these companies as they begin to make decisions about the framework in which
they will build advanced analytics capabilities. For some, a centralized team that handles
platform-based analytics and predictive modeling for all business units may be the pre-
ferred operating model. For others, a decentralized or diffused approach in which data is
managed at regional level or embedded throughout the organization may be appropriate.
2. Digital innovation accelerators. Recognizing the limitations of large, often slow-moving

organizations, some automotive players are investing in physical spaces that more naturally
foster creativity and are agile enough to keep pace with the fast-moving and complex digital
development. These setups are often physically separated from the company’s traditional
offices, and their cultures are more aligned with Silicon Valley than with traditional inter-
national conglomerates when it comes to attracting digital/software talent and cultivating
innovation. As beneficial as it may be for automotive organizations to establish these external
accelerators, they would also be well advised to make sure that strong ties to headquarters
remain in place. Everything that comes out of an automotive player’s pseudoindependent
innovation lab must be linked to clear business KPIs that align its activity with the broader
goals of the parent company.
“We used to outsource every digital program. Now we understand

the value of building some of the capabilities needed in-house, and
most of our services innovation comes from the combination of our
digital team and our advanced analytics team!”
– Major roadside assistance player, Europe
3. People-first approach to organizational redesign. Automotive players can look to digital

natives for ways to redraw the boxes and lines of traditional organizational charts and
create functional structures that accommodate the demands of digitization. Leading
high-tech players, for example, rely on organizational structures that give their employees
a home base function, but force them outside of their siloes by deploying them in virtual,
cross-functional teams to work on multiple projects at once. A more relaxed hierarchy that
empowers decision making at the unit level creates more organizational agility and allows
talent to demonstrate their abilities early on in their tenure.
Notably, the issue of fostering talent early was mentioned as a clear success factor of start-
ups and high-tech players in our industry roundtables. Instead of trying to backfill prescribed
job positions, leading innovators in the car data monetization space:
Focus recruitment on professionals with high levels of technical expertise, business acu-
men, and creativity and then build their digital organizations around those people
Attract talent with the right skills, building structures in which self-standing teams benefit
from diverse internal networks
Create an innovation culture by explicitly encouraging trial and error.
4. Performance-minded processes. Automotive organizations must also build strong
processes that support success. In the area of budgeting, for example, resource alloca-
tion for new products might become more dynamic (i.e., revisited and changed during the
year) and hinge on product/services success. Likewise, assessing current data assets and
prioritizing R&D/IT investments to build the target data assets base in the future are clear
competitive differentiators for digitally-advanced industry players.
“The (OEM) headquarters evaluates which technologies we

developed made it into new cars in five years … but platform
renewals occur every seven years! They don’t understand
how to evaluate knowledge transfer …”
– Technology research center responsible, Silicon Valley
Strategic partnerships
Digitization in automotive and connected cars are redefining competitive dynamics in the
industry. Innovation-based partnerships among and between OEMs and various suppliers/
service providers become increasingly necessary, as trends in three areas are making it
difficult for players to succeed on their own in this context:
Technology. Investments to deliver a competitive proposition on connected and autonomous

vehicles are in the range of billions of dollars per year for a car manufacturer. Technical
capabilities span across a broad variety of fields, from hardware integration to software
design to advanced analytics. New technologies and platforms emerge, promising to
significantly improve previous solutions. In this context, the cooperation between OEMs,
suppliers, infrastructure operators, and other players is a necessity.
Market. Consumer preferences are changing. Notably, consumers are increasingly demanding
services over products. This shift from hardware to service as the deliverable for many car
data players means playing within the context of a closely-knit, cooperative ecosystem of
“partners/competitors” across the value chain. In fact, customers expect a seamless con-
nectivity experience across their devices (e.g., smartphone, tablet, car, connected home/
office), positioning high-tech players as central actors in the car data monetization space.
Another factor pushing partnerships (and acquisitions) is the growing importance of
emerging markets, such as China, and their progressive attitude towards digital. Quickly
developing an understanding of local customers and gaining credible access to the local
digital gateways to consumers is an enabler to quickly scale up digital services. In this
sense, the recent merger between Didi Chuxing and Uber China shows how critical it is to
get access to local platforms in order to succeed in shared mobility services, in particular,
and in digitally enabled offerings, in general.
Regulation. Evolving legal frameworks, changing industry standards, and incentives are also
pushing for tighter connections across industry players in order to, for example, effectively
support the industry working tables currently defining technical guidelines on connectivity
and autonomy across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Large automotive players must learn how to work with a wide range of organizations that
may be fundamentally different in terms of size, working culture, and organizational agility. In
our industry roundtables, executives from start-ups and tech players often mentioned a set
of best practices that large players can adopt to work better together:
Provide a limited number of points of contact. Given their size, start-ups cannot deal with
hundreds of employees of an industry giant addressing them all at once from different
divisions (and often repeating the same questions). Setting up gatekeepers and a clear
project structure is critical to collaborate effectively.
Respond and decide quickly. The inability to have a response for weeks and decisions
delayed to the next board meeting kill smaller players’ agility and often cause signifi-
cant cost overruns in development programs. The ability to grant decisional rights
and budget approval at project level increases the chances of a quick success for
the partnership.
Agree upon a test-based approach to development. Innovation, particularly in digitally

enabled customer innovation, requires field testing, which implies developing apps,
concepts, services, and getting the markets’ reaction to fine-tune (or terminate) the
service on a continuous basis. Often, automotive players have special requirements
before products and services are tested, even on a very limited scale. Defining the
perimeter of testing from the very start of the collaboration helps prevent endless
frustrations between partners.
“Working with this global OEM slowed us down dramatically in

the development of our concept service. We went from three days
to seven weeks to test a new feature.”
– High-tech player, Silicon Valley
Ultimately, most of the industry roundtable participants concurred that the big strategic
choice they are currently involved in is the definition of the partnerships and technical
arrangements around vehicle data extraction and elaboration. Gathering data from
vehicles and elaborating, enriching, and analyzing it are the critical aspects in order to
derive a better understanding of customers’ needs and to design even more compelling
products and services.
Interestingly, multiple archetypes exist and are being explored by different car OEMs and
their partners across the globe (Exhibit 21).
Exhibit 21 The car data monetization ecosystem will rely on carefully planned CONCEPTUAL
strategic partnerships
Strategic partnership archetypes on car data elaboration
Automotive players In-house elaboration by the OEM

are quickly moving
to elaborate vehicle
data with different
approaches and
different roles for
Disseminated
themselves and their
elaboration by
partners Outsourcing
individual
to high-tech
suppliers and
giants
service
providers
Partnership with specialized players

in big data analytics
SOURCE: Company Web sites; AutoNews; press
Next steps: five pragmatic recommendations
for starting the car data monetization journey
There is certainly no singular, standardized approach to getting started and enabling an
organization for monetizing car data. Our findings concerning car data monetization as
well as our observations of the most successful players in adjacent industries with similar
digitization challenges, however, reveal effective approaches and perspectives that aspiring
companies in the car data space might adopt.
1. S et the ambition at CEO level. Car data monetization entails a profound rethinking
of the value chain for industry players, potentially entailing new revenue streams, new
capabilities, and potential cannibalization.
2. Focus efforts on a limited number of use cases. The players most likely to achieve
sustainable success in the area of car data monetization will be the ones who focus
on a limited number of use cases – instead of trying to target each of the 30 use cases
described above all at the same time.
3. Do not be afraid of workarounds today, while laying the IT foundations for a more
robust solution tomorrow. The organizational capabilities for long-term car data
monetization success are many, but achieving excellence in each area is not a prerequisite
for getting started. Automotive players should move early in the areas where they are
most prepared, create interim solutions to address current gaps, and also work on
building more permanent capabilities that allow them to achieve even greater success
in the future.
4. B uild an ecosystem of business and technology partners. As described above,

part of the capability building needed will require working relationships with a wide array of
external players and institutions. Companies should begin thinking about which aspects
of car data monetization they want to “own” as well as which are best addressed through
outsourcing, long-term collaboration or other types of partnerships. They should then
start identifying who those partners might be and engaging them pragmatically.
5. Build a strong internal team with an agile mindset. To fully capture value from car
data, companies need to build up strong internal capabilities and establish a dedicated
cross-functional team that drives innovation based on a culture open to change and
experimentation. This team must be located outside the current performance of the
organization if its processes are not agile enough to allow for development and field
testing of car data-enabled use cases at “high-tech player” speed.
  
The monetization potential of car data is massive but still in its early stages. Use cases are
already emerging, and the business models that facilitate them are being designed. As these
digital ecosystems are being shaped, each industry player should develop a clear vision
around the four main points we discussed in this publication:
Which value proposition can be offered to convince customers to share their data
and preferences?
Which data-related business models and use cases would maximize the returns for the
company? What is the related value at stake, in terms of revenue and profit? What the
expected timing to develop the market?
Which technical enablers should be put in place? What is the optimal level of investment
in technologies and services deployment?
Which capabilities and partnerships should be built to succeed?
“I realize we just embarked on a major transformation driven

by what can be done with car data, much more radical than we
anticipated. New offerings, monetization models we never
adopted, new competitors entering the arena … these are
exciting times to be in our sector!”
– CEO of a major automotive supplier, North America
Appendix: “Free mobility” as customer benefit –
utopia or business opportunity?
Car data-enabled business models have the potential to transform transportation into
a service. Could mobility be offered for free to end-customers in selected environ-
ments as a benefit in exchange for their data, time, and attention?
Once autonomous driving and car connectivity combine, customers might be offered mobility
services in exchange for watching targeted advertisements, providing product feedback, or
making purchases while in the car. Alternatively, multiple businesses might decide to offer
free rides to the store (or venue), as vehicle automation would significantly reduce the “cost
per kilometer” of personal mobility, and next-generation connectivity and digital technolo-
gies might turn the car into the “first step into the store.”
Exhibit 22 Free mobility could be offered to customers through 3 different models that are not
far from today's reality
Equivalent in
customer value
1 2 3
Tailored advertising Getting customer data Selling onboard
Today "Watch targeted ads on "Share your personal data and "Order a minimum of USD 50
your phone for a limited get free access to our worth of groceries and get
period of time and get 2 GB platform" free home delivery!"
of data free" – Global social media giant – Major US retailer
– Major telecom service
provider
2025+ "Watch 'hyper-targeted' "Sign up to our social media "Sign up to our loyalty pro-
possible commercials on your phone platform and receive 15 miles gram and purchase USD 50
proposi- and get 10 miles of mobility worth of shared mobility worth of grocery onboard
tions credit for free"1 credit"2 and get free home delivery
+ 3 miles of free mobility"3
Mobility as TANGIBLE benefit to be offered to customers
1 Maximum free mobility range equivalent to potential profit on a sale of 2 GB of data

2 Free mobility equivalent to the value of 1 extra customer acquired on social media platforms for leading players
3 Maximum free mobility equivalent to an operating profit on a USD 50 grocery sale
SOURCE: McKinsey
Exhibit 23 Businesses might increase store visits by providing free customer transportation
Equivalent in
customer value
Today: free parking and
public transport 2020+: free mobility to the store  What could this mean in a city like Milan?
Soccer stadiums in Reaching San Siro Potential maximum free mobility radii for soccer
Minneapolis offer free public stadium for free from a stadium, restaurant, and designer outlet in Milan
transport to the stadium driving distance of 4 km
on game day to ticket
holders which typically costs
USD 3 - 4
Restaurants in Milan’s city Getting for free to a

center pay up to restaurant in Duomo
EUR 6 - 10 per parked from Bocconi University –
customer driving distance of 6.5 km
Premium designer outlets in Reaching a premium

the UK offer shuttle buses designer outlet in
for free upon presenting a Corso Giacomo
sales receipt and reimburse Matteotti from the Milan City
parking worth minimum outskirts of Milan for Soccer stadium: 4 km
GBP 20 for a total purchase free – driving distance Restaurant: 6.5 km
above GBP 100 of up to 30 km Premium designer
outlet: 30 km
A large section of the population could be reached by free mobility
Location around Population reached, millions

San Siro stadium 0.2
Duomo 1.1
Corso Giacomo Matteotti 4.5
SOURCE: OpenStreetMap; LandScan
In this scenario, the car might become what we defined as a “control point” for retail
(see Exhibit 14); a critical space that leverages tangible benefits (e.g., convenience, safety,
time saving) and a tailored user interface (e.g., large touch screens, high-quality audio) to
become effectively a new point of interaction with customers.
ILLUSTRATIVE
Exhibit 24 Car data could enable in-car advertising, allowing for decision making or
purchasing online while driving
Point of purchase decision Point of actual purchase
Today
Car as vehicle to carry
the customer to a shop
after the decision to
purchase has been made
Tomorrow
Car as touchpoint to
recommend to the
customer where/
what to buy
Car as service to be pro-

vided to support the
customer in either buy-
ing onboard, reaching
the store or enjoying the
brand experience
SOURCE: McKinsey
New mobility offerings in exchange for data and customer loyalty could
facilitate a unique brand experience and intensive brand exposure ...
The “value-creating mobility” experience
17:43
17:30
Anna wants to buy
a Luxury Brand (LB) On her way, Anna can already browse the
handbag and orders collection and discover the new items on
the LB courtesy the “in-car” screen.
17:40 17:50
mobility service for
loyal customers.
17:50
Good
Anna is welcomed afternoon 18:20
by her LB relation-
anna With the assistance of the sales
cool!
ship manager who associate, Anna buys the 2 bags
is expecting her she liked the most and orders
and already made the LB car again.
18:22
all the preparations. ciao!
18:25
Back in the car, Anna 18:35

provides customer As the car is synchronized with
feedback and prebooks Anna’s calendar and she is
a LB car to take her to the still free for this evening,
presentation of the new an invitation to visit the newly
collection. opened “LB Bar” pops up
on the “in-car” display: the
purchases of the day grant her a
free admission and a welcome drink.
Customer perspective Business perspective

55 minutes of fun and VIP treatment 55 minutes of brand exposure in a highly
No stress from parking, driving, getting to the store controlled environment
An exclusive invitation for a free evening Efficient, targeted retail processes resulting in
higher sales
Customer feedback
Extension of the brand experience as a result
of cross-selling
... which were previously not available.
The “traditional mobility” experience

Leaving the car park, Anna
17:45 immediately hits rush hour that is
17:30 even worse than on usual days
Anna would like to buy
grr due to the bad weather. She also
a Luxury Brand (LB)
needs to find an available parking
handbag and decides to
space and must pay for parking
take her car to visit the
17:40 and a congestion charge.
LB boutique downtown.
work 18:00
there’s
car nowhere close
park to park!
When Anna finally 18:27 18:30

arrives at the store, how may i
help? we will hmm
she first has to wait a grrrrr
be closing in
few minutes before 15 minutes
a sales assistant is 18:35 Pressed for time

available – and then and feeling a bit tired,
suddenly finds herself Anna decides to buy
in a hurry. the one bag she
came for and leaves
the store immediately
19:02 afterward.
On her way home, grr

traffic is still terrible
19:35
and the rain hasn’t
When Anna finally is back home,
stopped. Not a great home
she’s lost the mood to go out
start of the weekend
and party with her friends.
at all.
Instead, she prefers to stay
at home and will showcase the
new purchase another day.
Customer perspective Business perspective

Almost 1 hour of stressfull driving back and forth Only 5 minutes of targeted brand exposure
Only 8 minutes in store, and some of these Suboptimal customer experience, ultimately
were waiting time leading to lower sales
Tiring, non-inspirational shopping experience No customer feedback
No cross-selling or experiential elements
beyond the in-store sale
Coauthors and significant contributors
Jagadeesh Balasubramanian, Alumnus
Sven Beiker, Specialist, Silicon Valley
Saral Chauhan, Senior Research Analyst, Mumbai
Tommaso Colombo, Alumnus
Misha Cornes, LUNAR, San Francisco
Fredrik Hansson, Associate Partner, Gothenburg
Neeraj Huddar, Engagement Manager, Mumbai
Reinier Jaarsma, Associate, Brussels
Matthias Kässer, Associate Partner, Munich
Knowledge contributors
Radhika Bhatia, Knowledge Expert, Gurgaon
Roberto Bosisio, Associate Partner, Milan
Andreas Breiter, Expert Associate Partner, Silicon Valley
Mickael Brossard, Expert Associate Partner, Paris
Alex Brotschi, Knowledge Specialist, NA Knowledge Center
Fabio Buschle, Specialist, Hamburg
Seunghyuk Choi, Associate Partner, Seoul
Alessandro Faure Ragani, Senior Expert, Milan
Simone Ferraresi, Expert Associate Partner, Rome
Thomas Furcher, Partner, Vienna
Eric Hannon, Partner, Frankfurt
Saskia Hausler, Junior Research Analyst, Munich
Kersten Heineke, Associate Partner, Frankfurt
Russell Hensley, Expert Partner, Detroit
Marcus Hohmann, Partner, Dusseldorf
Mauricio Janauskas, Partner, Buenos Aires
Alan Jowett, Associate, Chicago
David Malfara, Knowledge Expert, Miami
Thibaut Müller, Engagement Manager, Geneva
Alfons Parramon, Associate Partner, Madrid
Vishnu R, Junior Analyst, Chennai
Thomas Reinbacher, Senior Associate, Munich
Valentino Ricciardi, Knowledge Specialist, Milan
Andreas Tussing, Engagement Manager, Frankfurt
Editing and layout

Frank Breuer, Media Designer, Berlin
Jacqui Cook, Senior Media Designer, London
Isabel Hagedorn, Copy Editor, Munich
Jörg Hanebrink, Senior Communication Specialist, Dusseldorf
Bettina Küster, Senior Copy Editor, Munich
Other publications
Our latest insights into automotive industry trends are also available on McKinsey’s Automotive &
Assembly Extranet and on the McKinsey Insights app, our flagship digital publishing platform.
For further information on the future of mobility, please also refer to the following McKinsey publications:
Urban mobility at a tipping point
Global automobile sales are expected to increase from about 70 million p. a.
Urban mobility at a
tipping point in 2010 to 125 million by 2025, with more than half forecasted to be bought in
cities. The existing urban infrastructure cannot support such an increase in
vehicles on the road. Solving the mobility challenge will require bold, coordinated
actions from the private and public sectors. In this report, we lay out a framework
McKinsey Center for Business and Environment August 2015
that describes the evolution of urban mobility. We also highlight a set of urban
archetypes, defined by population density and the maturity of public transit;
each archetype can be expected to take a different path to mobility. Our analysis
suggests that a mobility revolution is on the way for much of the world. As a
result, we anticipate big improvements in the quality of life for city residents.
Shannon Bouton
Stefan M. Knupfer
Ivan Mihov
Steven Swartz
Finding the fast lane: Emerging trends in China’s auto market

2016 China Auto Consumer Report After years of double-digit growth, China’s auto market is slowing down.
Finding the fast lane:
Emerging trends in A cooling economy is one of the primary factors in the deceleration of what
China’s auto market remains the world’s largest market for automobiles. But other factors such
Automotive & Assembly Practice April 2016 as changing consumer behavior and attitudes towards cars are also at play.
To better understand what China’s auto buyers think and how they behave
when making one of the biggest purchases of their lives, McKinsey conducted
an extensive survey of over 3,500 consumers in March 2016.
Paul Gao
Sha Sha
Daniel Zipser
Wouter Baan
Finding the fast lane: Emerging trends in China’s auto market 1
Automotive revolution – perspective towards 2030

The automotive industry will change dramatically over the next years. Four
Automotive revolution –
perspective towards 2030 concurring trends – autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification and
How the convergence of disruptive
technology-driven trends could
shared mobility – will create opportunities for traditional OEMs and new players
transform the auto industry
alike. Our report provides scenarios concerning what kind of changes are
Advanced Industries January 2016
coming and how they will affect the industry.
September 2016
An integrated perspective on the future of mobility
AN INTEGRATED PERSPECTIVE
(coming in mid-October)
ON THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY Mobility is the something we take for granted in today’s world. Our desire for
mobility has its own constraints, however, as we cannot escape the resulting
air and sound pollution, and in most urban cities car drivers already spend too
much time sitting in traffic. The Future of Mobility whitepaper, jointly developed
by McKinsey and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, seeks to answer the
eminent question of how the various trends in electric/autonomous vehicles,
shared mobility, sustainable energy storage, etc. can be expected to impact
the future of mobility systems.
Contacts
Michele Bertoncello is an Associate Partner in McKinsey’s Milan office.
michele_bertoncello@mckinsey.com
Gianluca Camplone is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Milan office.

gianluca_camplone@mckinsey.com
Paul Gao is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Hong Kong office.

paul_gao@mckinsey.com
Hans-Werner Kaas is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Detroit office.

hans-werner_kaas@mckinsey.com
Detlev Mohr is a Senior Partner in McKinsey’s Stuttgart office.

detlev_mohr@mckinsey.com
Timo Möller is responsible for the McKinsey Automotive and

Innovation Center (MAIC).
timo_moeller@mckinsey.com
Dominik Wee is a Partner in McKinsey’s Munich office.

dominik_wee@mckinsey.com
Contact for content-related requests

Michele Bertoncello Gianluca Camplone
+39 (02) 7240 6462 +39 (02) 7240 6210
michele_bertoncello@mckinsey.com gianluca_camplone@mckinsey.com
Media contact
Martin Hattrup-Silberberg
+49 (211) 136 4516
martin_hattrup-silberberg@mckinsey.com
Advanced Industries
September 2016
Copyright © McKinsey & Company
Design contact: Visual Media Europe
www.mckinsey.com

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Monetizing Car Data

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Monetizing car data

New service business opportunities to

 “Customer clinics” collected user observations around preferences and attitudes

Michele Bertoncello Gianluca Camplone Paul Gao Hans-Werner Kaas

Detlev Mohr Timo Möller Dominik Wee

Introduction: global automotive macrotrends and the value 10

Developing a compelling value proposition for customers 13

Setting business models, use cases, and monetization options 22

Putting the three key technical enablers in place 32

Building capabilities and partnerships 46

Next steps: five pragmatic recommendations for starting 52

Appendix: “Free mobility” as customer benefit – 54

How might industry players in the evolving automotive ecosystem turn

 Cultivate a cross-functional, cooperative dynamic that fosters innovation, and identify

Powertrain electrification is being driven by stricter emission regulations, lower battery

Shared mobility as an alternative to privately owned vehicles is growing as a mobility model.

… radically changing the

Electrification Shifting markets and

New competition and

Autonomous driving Diverse mobility

 Developing a compelling value proposition for customers to share their data

 Defining data-related use cases and business models in detail

 Putting the required technical enablers in place

 Building the necessary capabilities and partnerships.

Germany USA China

SOURCE: McKinsey Car Data Monetization Survey 2016

2015 2016 2015 2016

Age Time spent the in car

18-29 30-49 50-64 Up to 10 11 to 20 > 20 hours

1 Aggregated responses related to the use cases tested in the survey

Vehicle usage (e.g., speed, ▪ PAYD insurance ▪ Reduced engineering

Direct communications from the ▪ Speech control of ▪ Proactive navigation and

Text Box 1 Deep dive on customer clinics

“Use cases and business models” “Human-machine interface of the future”

Key findings from the clinics include:

 Keeping car technology up to date is perceived as exciting. People instinctively draw

“The time you spend in a car is the constraining commodity … multiple

– High-tech player from Silicon Valley

On-board pur- Connected Usage-based Networked Predictive Usage

Connected Predictive Usage-based Usage monitoring Networked Predictive

Predictive Remote Usage Predictive Networked Usage

SOURCE: McKinsey Car Data Monetization Survey 2016

No 24 I would not allow this under any circumstances

Counter to initial expectations, data privacy concerns do not appear to be a major

SOURCE: McKinsey Connectivity and Autonomous Driving Consumer Survey 2015

A continuous exploration of customers’ attitudes towards data sharing will be crucial

“Rule No. 1 is not to use data against the customer.”

– European telematics player

1. Admit the mistake openly.

2. Identify responsibilities with clarity.

“You have got to give customers a credible corporate response,

– High-tech player from Silicon Valley

In terms of relevant players, start-ups providing data-enabled services and established

Infrastructure operators, including billing/toll road operators and recharging/refueling players,

Service providers offer data management services (e.g., analytics, pseudonymization,

The three main value creation models of car data monetization

Exhibit 10 Industry players may focus on 3 main macrocategories of

Improved customer Early recall detection

Emergency call service

“Enhanced value” by autonomy “Reduced value” by autonomy Autonomy not relevant

Fear of cannibalization of the existing business is also frequently regarded as a limiting

Text Box 4 Deep dive on monetization options

 Rolled into vehicle (or mobility service) price

 Deducted/debited from a rechargeable credit, as offered for selected content

“Customer clinics” collected user observations around preferences and attitudes

Cultivate a cross-functional, cooperative dynamic that fosters innovation, and identify

Developing a compelling value proposition for customers to share their data

Defining data-related use cases and business models in detail

Putting the required technical enablers in place

Building the necessary capabilities and partnerships.

Keeping car technology up to date is perceived as exciting. People instinctively draw

1. Admit the mistake openly.

Rolled into vehicle (or mobility service) price

Deducted/debited from a rechargeable credit, as offered for selected content

Covered by monetizing tailored advertising pushed to the end customers or elabo-

Many of the major car OEMs, suppliers, and infrastructure players

Rely heavily on field experimentation rather than lengthy strategic thinking

Create an innovation culture by explicitly encouraging trial and error.

Agree upon a test-based approach to development. Innovation, particularly in digitally

4. B uild an ecosystem of business and technology partners. As described above,

Which capabilities and partnerships should be built to succeed?